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Overview
Much like any world, the people of Faleal encompass a variety of roles, professions, and trades. They are, on a global scale, unified by the limited land mass of the Divide, as well as a shared struggle against the vast evils in the shadows of the world and beyond. Those situations and community traits unique to Faleal are shown below. Hope and Perseverance The people of Faleal are strong. With each age shaped by truly monstrous threats, the mortal and immortal races of the Divide carry on. A farmer may not smile at his plow, but he still wakes each morning, knowing that life will carry on. The fishermen still fishes the shallow waters of his home, wary of the dangers from below, but knowing that his world will not end. This phenomenon may be due to the constant presence of the gods, or could be inspired by the legendary heroes of each age. Whatever its reason, it is so strong as to be nearly tangible. Against foes such as Despair and her minions, the hope of the masses serves as both sword and shield. Even the wrought, reborn from the collected hopes and dreams of legends past, serve as reminders of the powers of radiant perseverance. Krol and the Pack Twice throughout history, the krol have served as a great enemy to mankind - once hunting their predecessors nearly to extinction, and once enslaving them. This lends to a deserved wariness, giving way to occasional fear at their utterly monstrous appearance. Even considering these, the mortal races of Faleal have no greater protector than the krol. Ultimately, krol within society are viewed cautiously, but with respect. Protecting this "pack" of mortals is thankless work, but there exists a fierce compassion there, extending an ancient oath into a near-familial bond. It is not unusual for a family of mortals to have a "guardian krol", who may or may not make itself known to them. Such bonds should be trivial to an ageless, immortal creature, but is instead seen with something akin to reverence. Krol guardians watch over families, closely-knit of groups of friends, or even communities, protecting them from threats that would dare to threaten their fate or the unity of the people. The inexorable link is only strengthened by the Mensha Pact, which ties the ability for a single krol to reproduce to a single, carefully chosen mortal, trading immortality for fertility. Living and the Dead In a world as rich in magic as Faleal, death is often temporary. Most major cities have access to magics that, for the right price, can bring back the dead. While this makes certain rules and regulations somewhat tricky (not to mention the concept of inheritance!), how it is handled varies depending on which country it occurs in. It is nearly always legal, and creates a high demand for powerful priests and alchemists. Far more common, and far more legally questionable, is the reanimation of the dead. In most developed countries, intelligent undead are afforded only the most basic rights and privileges, treated as second or third-class citizens. In others, they hold positions no different than they did in life, albeit with more of a watchful eye on their actions. Unintelligent undead are strictly controlled and scrutinized, serving as untiring, uncomplaining slave labor. It is no rarity to walk the fields after dark and see a small force of priests commanding a mob of undead tillers or harvesters. With the advent of the wrought, the movement for increased rights for the undead has been growing. Wrought can often find themselves both reviled and relied on as ambassadors for either side. Slavers and the Sea It is no surprise that the sea is a source of many tales of terror. While it may seem beautiful on the surface, with light reflecting from the stone floating within it like so many stars, deep below lies darkness and depravity. The jin-rai of the Core and surrounding colonies grow bloodthirsty, sentient coral, and perform hideous magical experimentation on themselves and their captives, all in the name of their Sovereign gods. Dorlum ply the shores and the open seas, taking crews and fisherman as slaves to work their labs and fight in their arenas. Even if one manages to avoid them, stories tell of island-swallowing behemoths, tentacles that can crush an archipelago, or deep, vast eyes staring madness up to the surface. The oldest of legends tell that Sovereigns live in these waters, spawning, watching, and waiting for the careless and the foolish. Of course, not all jin-rai are blood-obsessed lunatics, and not all dorlum are slavers. Clans of the more social aquatic folk ventured inland long ago, settling in deep lakes, rivers, and bayous, sharing their knowledge and the benefits of their physiology with their terrestrial neighbors. The old ways, including slavery and Sovereign-worship, are banned in most inland nations, with increased likelihood of cults and backsliding the further towards the sea one goes. While the shores are largely safe since the fall of the Technocracy, ancient superstitions (and modern caution) keep the fishermen in the shallows and the traders in the skies.